Julie Lafreniere and Andrew Watson won their respective elite titles at the 2012 Ontario Provincial Cyclocross championships, held at the Barrie Sports Complex in Midhurst. Organized by the Barrie Cycling Club, the sixth annual Barrie Baseball 'Cross featured a mostly flat 3.5km course with long straightaways, a couple of barriers, a challenging set of stairs and, as an extra bonus, a good ol' mud pit.

Elite WomenDefending provincial champion Melissa Bunn (Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery) led the women off the line and down the long opening straight. Joining her were Jamie Gilgen (Kallisto/Wheels of Oakville) and Lafreniere, riding her first race for new sponsor Xprezo-Borsao. The trio wasted no time in distancing themselves from the remainder of the field.

Their speed was such that they soon ran into the tail end of the Master B Men's race, where Bunn fell back slightly. "I always start fast," explained the Ottawa-area hydrogeologist. "We came into the back of the men and through that little muddy section I kind of dropped off."

Early in the second lap Lafreniere stepped on the accelerator and simply rode Gilgen off her wheel. "On the second lap, I was in a good position and it was "Go", " said Lafreniere. Within a couple of laps her lead was 20 seconds, which she eventually stretched to more than 30 by the finish. "It went really well", said the new champion, who resides in Oxford Station. "It was very hard because the course is flat and a lot of power was needed."

Behind her it was still a battle for second, as Bunn was able to recover and claw her way back to Gilgen. "I kept seeing Jamie in my sights which gave me some push to catch her. After I caught my breath from the start I settled in and reeled her in." Neither was able to shake the other, and it came down to a sprint.

Coming out of the final turn Gilgen was in the ideal position, but Bunn was able to hold her off to claim second. "I was behind", related Gilgen, a self-employed software developer from Toronto. "She actually kicked a little bit. I was planning on going right then, but she kicked a little bit which kind of surprised me and I couldn't get around her."

Not until the awards ceremony did Bunn realize that she had actually won the sprint for second. "I tried to sprint as hard as I could. I didn't know who won until we got called up to the podium. I couldn't get my chain into the big ring. It was more cadence than power on that sprint."

Elite MenWatson (Norco Factory) quickly surged to the front of the combined Senior and U23 men's field. Joining him early on the opening lap were Mitchell Bailey (Trek Canada), Peter Mancini (Esteemtraining.com), Marco Li (Garneau-Quebecor-Norton Rose) and Tyson Wagler (Scott - 3Rox Racing). By the end of lap one, however, the quintet had disintegrated as Watson and Bailey came through in the lead with a slight gap to Mancini, and Li and Wagler another 10 seconds back.

Hailing from nearby Craighurst, Watson was a definite crowd favourite, with enthusiastic calls of "Doctor" marking his progress around the course. By the end of lap two he had a slight lead over Bailey, who not only closed it down by the start of the fourth lap, but blasted past the erstwhile leader to establish a gap of his own. Although enrolled at McGill in Montreal, Bailey calls Barrie home and had plenty of support as he came through the half-race point with a seven-second lead.

Watson appeared to be in a spot of bother, but collected himself and regained Bailey's wheel by the sixth lap. The leading pair rode together briefly, but Watson was soon on the gas again. Bailey held him for a while, but eventually the elastic snapped and the Norco pro rider was on his way to the overall victory.

"Yeah it was a battle, for sure", admitted Watson. "We were never riding together a whole lot. I was more attacking, Mitch was riding a steadier pace. I kind of cracked a little bit. Mitch got a good gap on me, then I caught back up to him. I'm not a crazy-good sprinter so I just tried to attack with about two laps to go. I got a little bit of a gap and just held on to it. I'd say we were pretty equal on this course. He definitely had a bit more power on the flats. Maybe in a few of the turns I was able to carry a little more speed, and through the barrier section."

"Yeah, that was definitely hard," agreed Bailey. "I thought I had him at one point but ... nope. It just kept going back and forth. He had a lot more than me in the last few laps."

Bailey continues to train as much as possible while at school, and is contemplating attending the national championships. For his part, Watson will take his undefeated 'cross record east to Ottawa next weekend for The Hammer and The Anvil, before heading west for the national championships.

While a lot of attention was directed at the two leaders, Mancini and Li were locked in a pursuit race for third overall. For five laps the gap between the two remained around the 10-second mark, before Mancini was eventually able to get some breathing room.

"They were going at too hard of a pace," said Mancini of Watson and Bailey. "I was looking back at Marco and I figured he was far enough that I could just keep going, keep the hammer down and try to keep him away. Near the end I think he messed up on a turn and that was it; I was home free." He was also very appreciative of the course. "It was awesome. An excellent course. There were some really good turns. It was fast and there was a wicked hill with a run-up. When I saw the run-up driving in I was really pumped up."

Junior MenA small but elite field of Junior men was led off the start line by Adam Jamieson (Team CHCH). Peter Disera (Cycle Solutions/Angry Johnny's Cycling) quickly went to the front and opened a gap, which only William Elliot (Team BTG-Barrie Cycling) could close. The two took turns attacking each other, but without success. It eventually came down to a sprint, with Disera narrowly taking the win. Jamieson rode in third for most of the opening half of the race, but was eventually caught and passed by Tyler Lee (St. Catharines Cycling)..

Master WomenSusan Croswell (First Capital Cycling) and Lori Kofman (Erace Cancer Cycling Team) were the early pace setters in the Master Women's race. Croswell surged ahead on the second lap to take the win over Kofman, with Carolyne Haill (Chain Reaction/Molson '67) finishing third.

Master MenAs befitting his status as national champion, Peter Mogg (Stevens Racing p/b The Cyclery) led from start to finish to win the Master A race. A ding-dong race-long scrap for second was won in a sprint by Tim Marshall (Morning Glory Cycling) ahead of Isaac Smith (Blacksmith Cycle).

Despite being the final Master B rider called to the line in the biggest field of the day, Andrew Croutch (The Hub Race Team) relied on determination and a bit of good luck to go from worst to first and take the victory. Ed Makarchuk (Sound Solutions) and Rob Holmgren (Velocity Cycle & Ski) traded places throughout the race before Makarchuk prevailed in a sprint for second.

Bob Bergman (Canadian Cycling Magazine), Colin Funk (First Capital Cycling) and Robert Sule (Chain Reaction/Molson '67) were the class of the Master C race. The trio quickly established an unassailable lead, staying together until the final lap when Sule powered ahead of Funk, with 2011 provincial champ Bergman taking the bronze.

The trip from Kingston proved fruitful for James Laird (First Capital Cycling) as he took the Master D championship over Jack Sasseville (Team Hardwood/Trek) and Francis Morrow (Independent)..